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A connectivity glass cannon
While T-Mobile’s uplink gains stand to have a major impact in specific spaces, they probably don’t mean much for 5G internet usage anywhere else. This is because the mmWaves used for the massive uptick in speed are painfully fragile. While mmWaves come with excellent bandwidth, they are far from ideal for anything but close proximity and high-powered communications with an unobstructed line-of-sight.
The typical frequency spectrum used for 5G service is robust, with the ability to travel long distances, penetrate buildings, and bounce off walls while still carrying a healthy signal. In contrast, mmWave communications can be stopped by nearly anything between your device and the transmission source: a windshield, the leaves of a tree, or even thick clothing can stop a mmWave broadcast dead in its tracks.
On top of that, mmWaves can’t travel very far because the oxygen and water in the atmosphere quickly attenuate the signal. The final nail in the coffin is the dire need for a direct line-of-site, as the waves don’t bounce off surfaces well at all; instead of reflecting into a more concentrated path like other comms waves, mmWaves typically scatter upon hitting most surfaces.
These obstacles make T-Mobile and Ericsson’s achievement all the more impressive, with the development of powerful equipment and using natural loopholes in the frequency spectrum to deliver very useful applications for mmWave technology. It’s almost as if nature tailor-made mmWaves for use in arenas and stadiums, but it will be an enormous challenge to utilize this tech anywhere that doesn’t have a beastly mmWave antenna with internet users situated around a central location (like a football field).
It was once considered mmWave tech could transform mobile communications. Internet service providers and carriers, such as Verizon, secured as many rights as possible for the extremely high-frequency band. Now that mmWave’s limitations are more clear, ISPs and tech companies have responded accordingly. T-Mobile itself relinquished much of its mmWave spectrum, declaring the technology “not feasible” on the scales required for wide use. The trend continues in the product market, with Apple dropping mmWave capability from its newest iPad Pro despite providing the capability in the brand’s previous two iPad Pro iterations.
Regardless of the limitations, T-Mobile has shown its commitment to keep improving its services wherever possible, whether that means transforming the internet market in a few years by leading the charge into 5G home internet or swinging with the punches and finding useful ways to employ priorly-perceived duds like mmWave 5G.